


The End of the Line

by DarkEmb3r



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Declarations Of Love, I seriously hate myself after this, Pain, but like....two years too late, lots of cussing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 15:24:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19087786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkEmb3r/pseuds/DarkEmb3r
Summary: "I'm with you, till the end of the line."Little did Steve know how soon that line was going to end.





	The End of the Line

He snarled at the enemy, knocking them unconscious with his shield as he tries to fight his way to his friend’s side. Enemy after enemy fell as his friend’s screams rang in his ear. And then dead silence. He arrived at his friend’s side moments later. Wide frantic eyes looked up at him, arms feebly pushing on a steel beam pinning down the person they belonged to. Frantic breathes could be heard, wheezing laced throughout.   
In a moment he pulled the beam off his friend, kneeling beside him. A gentle hand cups their face before sweeping over for injuries. Blood was pooling underneath his friend. Oh, so gently he scooped him into his arms. A wheezing, hacking cough came from his friend, blood speckling his face and some more of their surroundings.   
“Everything will be alright Bucky. I’ve got you.” He chuckled slightly his blue eyes meeting with his friend’s grey ones. “We’ve come a long way from those two kids from Brooklyn haven’t we?” A small smile crossed his friend’s face, replaced quickly by a grimace.  
“You remember that time after the movies, just before the war, when you found me in the alley fighting that guy who was easily 3 times my size? And I was using a trash can lid for a shield?” Another chuckle. “I was such an idiot back then.”  
A snort came from the man in his arms. “Still an idiot.”  
“Remember the night before you left? We spent the whole night out with you trying to get me a girl.”  
“You kept turning down the ones I sent your way. Never figured out why.”  
“They just weren’t my type.” A painful sounding snort met that response. Silence fell for a moment and then a panicky “Stevie, I can’t feel my fingers,’ came from the man in his arms. Fear crept through the man as he held his friend a little tighter.   
“Stevie, is everything supposed to be going dark?” The voice was softer now, quieter. It sounded like it was fading.  
Looking down the man saw his friend’s eyes beginning to close. “Keep your eyes open Bucky. Don’t close them. Don’t close them! Please Bucky, keep them open!”  
The last thing he heard was “I’m scared Stevie. And so cold. So, so cold” before his friend’s eyes closed. Mere moments later his friend stopped breathing. And he panicked.  
“Bucky. Bucky no! Breathe goddammit! You fucking asshole, you aren’t allowed to die on me. Dammit Bucky FUCKING BREATHE!” A sob tore loose from the man. Then another, and another, until he was just sitting there holding his friend close, body shaking from the force of the sobs.   
Whether it was a few moments later, or a few hours later, he knew not; it felt like ages before someone showed up. Before someone pried him away from his friend. Before he vaguely heard them call it. The numbness had spread through his body by then. A gentle hand guided him towards the others. Against his better judgement he looked up. He found himself scanning the group, despite everything, hoping that it had just been a hallucination. That Bucky hadn’t died. He looked down when he didn’t see those steel grey eyes.  
Broken and defeated, he walked with the others, back to the tower. For the first time in his life, Steve Rogers wanted to stop fighting. And so he did.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Two years passed, and he finally found the strength to look through Bucky’s stuff. Photos of them before and during the war, and when Bucky had been cleared, were piled high in the box. Notebooks were scattered everywhere. Little notes and memos were placed neatly in a small box, little reminders Bucky had left for himself on the bad days.  
At the bottom of a box Steve found a worn out notebook. He opened it, recognizing it as the one Bucky had back in the days before the war. Opening it he found the very first page was a letter, addressed to none other than him.

'Stevie,  
I’ve loved you from the moment I saw you. I love how you never backed down, never wanted to give up. I love how when inspiration hits you will sit for hours drawing. I love how you laugh at my stupid jokes, how your smile can light up a whole room. I love the way your blue eyes sparkle with mischief and how you can turn me into a complete and utter sap. But most of all, I love how you can always find a way to get me to smile, even on my bad days.  
So, Stephen Grant Rogers, will you marry me? I know technically it’s illegal but I know this guy who will officiate without outing us.'

A note was on the next page.

'Who am I kidding. I never will have the courage to tell him how I feel. He probably doesn’t even feel the same way. God, I love him. It hurts, not being able to be with him. But if anyone were to find out….fuck we’d be in so much trouble.'

Steve continued reading through the notebook, tears falling the further in he gets. He reached the end of the notebook. The last entry said,

'We have a mission today in the Alps. Have to catch a train to take down the last bit of HYDRA. Steve has been in leader mode all week. The damn kid never could back down from a bully. It’ll be the death of him one day. I won’t be there to save him, even though he barely needs it anymore, and he will go down.'

Steve slowly closed the notebook, tears falling down his face. It fell to the floor with a thump as he leaned his head against the wall behind him. “Bucky…I never got to tell you. I love you too. I miss you. I miss you so fucking much. It’s so hard to function without you. I hope you’re happy, wherever you are now.” Steve closed his eyes, letting the tears silently fall as the silence of the room soothed his raw wounds. And he remembered.


End file.
